Assorting-machine for canned goods.



M. M. WINNINGHAM.

ASSORTING MACHINE FOR CANNED GOODS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, I916- Patented Mar. 27, 1911 2 shins-SHEET I.

Mar /um M42717; Aam a 13- W y f a? PM A TTOR/VE Y M. M. WINNINGHAM.

ASSORTING MACHINE FOR CANNED GOODS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, I916.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

" ATTORNEY o Irina son'rrne-nacnrnn rota cann'nn scone.

specification of Letters Tatent.

Patented Mar. 2t, T212.

application filed February 23, 1216. Serial 1%. W237.

To all where it may concern."

Be it known that T, Mancuuus M. Win- NINGHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Assertingltfachines for Canned Goods, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for as sorting canned goods of diflerent weights; and its object is the provision of a machine of this character which will perform its of fice with accuracy and in a rapid manner.

The invention consists in a machine having a conveyer for first feeding'cans to the pan of a weighing scale which is regulated scale pan, encounter said controller, which is thereupon influenced to render edective power-driven devices to actuate the ejector for withdrawing the light weight articles from the an and transferring them to a place provided therefor.

The invention further consists in the novel construction, adaptation and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a can-asserting machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section of the same, said section being taken substantially through 2--2 of Fig. l. Fi 3 is a transverse section through 3?; 0 Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal section through 4-4 of Fig. 2 of the segment-wheel drive for a can ejector. Q

As illustrated, the, machine is provided with a frame 5 having a platform 6 in which are openin s 7 to accommodate scale pans 8. Two 0 these pans are shown, each of which is supported upon an upright stem 8 extending through a guide 9 provided on a bracket 9 secured to or formed integral with the platform 6.

10 represents a scale beam fulcrumed at 11 and connected from one of its arms by a link 12 to the associated pan, the other arm carrying an adjustable counterweight 10 15 from which extend opposite directed horizontal arms 15 which will e hereinafter designated as controllers. .tdub acent to the latter and. extending from diametrically opposite sides of the respective shafts l3 and in rectangular relations with the controllers, are fingers 16 hereinafter designated as ejectors. These ejector-s are desirtannin, or sna'r'rnn, wasnrnevron', assrcuon or oun-roun'rn I urns, or snarfrnn, wasnntcron.

ably curved at their extremities as indicated by 16 in Fig. 1.

Fixedly secured to each of the shafts 13 is a sector-gear 17 which, as shown in Fig. l, is provided with teeth 17 and 17 disposed circumferentially with alternating .concavities 17 and 17 revolve within a concavity, as 17, of the sector-gear when the sector-gear is idle; but

when the sector-gear is afi'ected by a slight rotary movement to have one of its teeth engage the spur-gear, the latter will serve to rotate the sector-gear until the other con-' cavity, as 17 of the sector-gear is presented to the spur-gear and the sector-gear again becomes idle, and so on.

The spur-gears are rotated continuously during the operation of the machine through V the agency of bevel-gears 19 mounted on the. respective shafts 19 being driven by bevel-gears 20 upon a transverse shaft 20 which,in turn, is driven from a shaft 21, as by a chain 22 passing about sprocket wheels 20 and 21 on the respective shafts.

The shaft 21 may be driven in any suitable manner, a power belt 23 being shown passing about a pulley 21 on the shaft.

24 represents a conveyor chain provided with carrier attachments 24 and passing about sprocket wheels 25 and 26 mounted upon transverse shafts 25 and 26 at opposite ends of the platform. Said chain has a lead 24; above the machine platform 6 and is guided'to travel between the openag 7 I he chain 24 is given an intermittent movement in the direction indicated by ar- 7 row at, suitable means, as-by a pawl 27 .scale pans 8.

carried by a crank-pin 21 of the power- 'driven shaft 21 actuating a ratchet wheel 25 provided on the shaft 25 I v Extending upon one end of the platform 6 are. the discharge ends of inclined can-. 'feeding chutes 28 arranged to deliver cans into the path of the conveyer carriers. An inclined delivery chute 29 for cans of correct weight. is provided at the other end of the platform, while light weight cans are dis-' charged from the platform by means of chutes 30 at opposite sides of the platform and adjacent to the respective scale pans.

v The operation of the invention may be explained as follows:

The cans to be assorted are fed from chutes 28 to the table or platform 6 and are thereupon advanced by a succession of movements through the agency of the intermittently operated conveyer245 to the respective en a can of suflicient weight is thus brought onto a scale pan, the latter will be depressed, and in the next forward motionof the conveyer, will be carried forward below a controller 15 and will ultimately be delivered by the conveyer into the discharge chute 29. 7 a

A can of insuflicient weight to depress a scale pan, however, will in traversing the same, encounter one of the controllers 15 which is thereby swerved to effect a slight rotation to the associated shaft 13 to effect the engagement of the sector-wheel 17 thereof with the ower-driven master-gear 18, resulting in t e latter rotating the shaft 13 until a series of teeth, 17 or 17, thus engaged have been utilized to cause the sectorgear to make one-half of a rotation and present a cavity 17 or 17 to the gear 18.

During such an occurrence, the ejectors 1.6? have been revolved by the shaft to cause one of the former to enlgage the light-weight .can and push it latera a chute 30. v

The invention is of'snnple construction and m operatlon the weights of the .cans

effect the lowering of the heavier ones belowa controller to be carried away by the conveyer without mfluencingthe ejecting devices which are rendered operative only i by light-weight cans.

' through the agency of the conveyer and for It is to be understood that the elevation of cans with reference to a controller is governed by the scales as they may be influenced, or otherwise by the weights of the cans.

. The assorting devices proper are. upon occasion, caused to be operated by poweractuated means applied for. heavy cans light. cans through the cofiperation of the conveyer and an ejector to impart an initial movement through a controller to a sectorgear to render the same subject to a powery from the pan into' driven spur gear which then asserts itself to react through the medium of the sectorgear to cause an ejector to expel the can of deficient weight. w

The controller arms 15 may be adjusted to accommodate cans of diiferent heights and whose weights are to be tested, and the weight at which a scale will operate may be 1 ejector-arm, normally inoperative means for actuating said .arm, means to convey cans to and upon the pan of said scale, and a controller fiiiger operatively connected with said ejector-arm and engageable by a'can having a weight insufliclent to depress the scale pan thereby imparting an initial movement to the ejector-arm and rendering said first-named means capable of influencing the ejector-arm to remove such can fromthe an. I p 2. An assorting machine having a weighing scale adjusted to have its pan depressed only by a can of a selected weight or of a weight in excess thereof, means to progressively carry cans to and across sa1d scalepan, and means for ejecting light-weight cans from the scale-pan, such means comprlsing an ejector, a device coupled therewith and engageable by a light-weight can, and power-driven means rendered operable by a can engaging said device whereby said ejector 1s caused to remove a can from the scale-pan and restore said device into operative osition. I

3. 11 an assorting machine, a platform, a weighing scale hatlng a pan operable in an opening of the platform, a conveyer for the transmission of cans on the platform to be weighed upon the scale-pan, a vertical shaft, a sectorrgear' provided on said shaft, a power-driven spur-gear an ejector finger extending from said sha and a controlling arm provided on the shaft and disposed at an elevation to allow the passage therebe neath of a can of weight sufliclent to depress the scale-pan but engageable by a can of less weight whereby the progressive travel of such can will influence said sectorgear to effect the meshing of the same with said spur-gear whereupon the latter actuates the aforesaid ejector finger for the removal of the light-weight can from the scalean. 1 P 4. In an fassorting machine, a platform, a scale having a pan extending through said platform, a conveyer adapted to transmit cans to and from said scale-pan, an upright gear, means to rotate said spur-gear contmuously during the operatlon of the machine,

an ejector-finger provided on the shaft, a controller arm provided in superposedv relation to the aforesaid finger and nprmally extending over the scale-pan, said arm being arranged to be subject to a can traversing the scale-pan and of insufficient Weight to depress the latter whereby the shaft is influenced to cause said sector-gear to become operable with respect to the spur-gear whereupon said shaft is rotated to cause said vejector-finger to effect the removal of such light-weight can from the scale-pan.

5. An assorting machine, having a platform with an opening therein, a scale provided with a pan operating in said opening, an upright shaft, an ejector-finger extending from said shaft, a sector-gear mounted on said shaft, a power-driven gear, means to convey cans across said scale-pan, and a controller-arm extending from said shaft at a predetermined height and adapted to be encountered by a can of insuiiici'ent weight to depress the scale-panwhereby said shaft is influenced to rotate the sector-gear into mesh with said power-driven gear whereby the day of January, 191

ttt

from the pan of said scale, a shaft; normally inoperative means to afiord rotary motion to said shaft, an ejector-finger extending from said shaft, a controlling arm extending from said shaft at an elevation to allow the passage therebelow of a can of sufficient Weight to depress the scale-pan but engageable by a can of less weight whereby the progressive I travel of the can will act through the in-- strumentality of said controlling arm to efi'ect the operation of the aforesaid means to impart rotary motion to said shaft and cause the ejector-finger to remove the lightweight can from the scale-pan.

Signed at Seattle, Washington, this 14th MARCENUS Witnesses PIERRE BARNES, E. PETERSON.

6 M. WINNINGHAM. 

